The Coalition’s Plan for Real Action in Regional Australia
20-August-2010
The Coalition’s plan for regional Australia is built on strong economic management and returning a fair share for the regions.
Regional Australia is usually hit first, hardest and longest during periods of economic slowdown, but we know that panicky deficit budgeting and overhanging debt will rob future generations of a decent standard of living. Our first priority in government will be to restore the Budget surplus and repay the alarming debt Labor has amassed.
The Coalition will put an end to Labor’s reckless spending and, as the budgetary situation improves, secure a fair share of investment for regional Australia.
We want to ensure that all Australians have fair access to services like health and education and critical infrastructure such as good roads and telecommunications to unlock regional Australia’s potential. We commit ourselves to delivering a fair go to all Australians – no matter where they live.
The Coalition will re-establish a direct relationship with regional Australia. Labor’s first budget stripped $1 billion out of regional programmes. The second budget stripped out even more, and included an emissions trading tax. The third has given us a big, new mining tax.
The Coalition will help build a strong, prosperous and vibrant regional Australia.
Australia’s future depends on its regions. Regional Australia makes a major contribution to our national economy, our way of life and our identity as a nation.
The Coalition’s plan for real action in regional Australia will:
Support regional Development by -
1. Restructuring Regional Development Australia
The Coalition will establish local committees, comprising local leaders drawn from the community, business and government, to set the direction of each Regional Development Australia office.
2. Broadening the Better Regions Programme
The Coalition will invest $350 million to broaden the Better Regions Programme to support capital works, business activity and jobs growth in local communities.
Connect regional Australia by –
3. Investing in roads
The Coalition knows that Australia needs the best possible transport networks to keep our nation moving and our economy growing. We will progressively work to achieve our vision to upgrade the national road network from north to south, and from east to west. The Coalition will ensure that funding under the restored AusLink programme is directed towards the nation’s highest priority road projects.
4. Repairing and rebuilding small road bridges
The Coalition will invest $300 million to repair and rebuild thousands of ageing and decaying bridges around Australia.
5. Funding the construction of 500 new roadside stops
The Coalition will provide $300 million to fund the construction of 500 roadside stops.
6. Maintaining the Remote Air Service Subsidy Scheme
The Coalition will ensure communities in particularly isolated communities continue to receive regular passenger and freight services.
7. Upgrading remote aerodromes
The Coalition will maintain funding for the Remote Aerodrome Safety Programme to assist in the upgrade of airstrips in remote and isolated communities.
Improve education in regional Australia by -
8. Creating a new Regional Education Fund
The Coalition will invest $1 billion into a new Regional Education Fund that will provide capital investment and additional support for schools, vocational and education training providers and universities in rural and regional areas.
9. Extending eligibility for Youth Allowance
The Coalition will extend eligibility to students in the Inner Regional Category.
Improve health outcomes in regional Australia by -
10. Investing in mental health treatment
The Coalition will fund 800 new mental health beds, provide 60 youth Headspace sites and establish 20 early psychosis centres.
11. Funding 2,800 new public beds
The Coalition will directly fund 2,800 new public hospital beds to relieve pressure on our public hospitals.
12. Boosting after-hours GP services
The Coalition will invest $165 million to further support family GP clinics providing access to weekend and after-hours services.
13. Paying annual bonuses to Nurse Practitioners in regional towns
The Coalition will introduce an annual $10,000 bonus for up to 300 Nurse Practitioners who choose to practice in towns without resident medical practitioners.
14. Growing the rural health workforce
The Coalition will double the number of bonded scholarships under the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships scheme and increase the scholarships available for registered nurses in rural and remote areas to undertake qualifications to become Nurse Practitioners.
15. Attracting more rural and regional dentists
The Coalition will pilot a rural bonded scholarships scheme for dentists.
16. Improving telecommunications in the bush
The Coalition will improve telecommunications access to regional Australia through a suite of measures. The Coalition’s plan will deliver a broadband network, under which 97 percent of premises nationwide are able to be served by high speed networks capable of delivering from 100 Mbps down to a minimum of 12 Mbps peak speed, using a combination of technologies including HFC, DSL and fixed wireless and satellite.
Maintain Australia’s food security by -
17. Encouraging more research and development in primary production
The Coalition will increase the government’s contribution from a matching contribution of $1 for every $1 raised by industry to $1.25 for each of the 15 Rural Research and Development Corporations.
18. Upgrading water infrastructure
The Coalition will make grants of up to $100,000 available for farming enterprises to undertake water-saving activities such as installing pipes and troughs for stock water, and to improve grazing practices and protect environmental assets. Grants will also be available to introduce renewable energy technologies for pumps. The Coalition will also provide an additional $200 million, making a total of $400million, to the Strengthening Basin Communities program to allow Basin Communities to provide for funding to expand their economic and employment opportunities to create more resilient centres of commerce.
19. Establishing a Biosecurity Flying Squad
The Coalition will provide approximately $15 million to set up an agency to ensure food integrity.
20. Mapping Australia’s agricultural footprint
With trading partners increasingly demanding an environmental audit of produce, this program would audit the carbon footprint of all of Australia’s agricultural production from paddock to plate.
21. Eradicating feral pests
The Coalition will fund large scale feral animal control and eradication programmes at a cost of $20 million.
22. Increasing and retaining the Brains Trust
The Coalition will provide $5 million to ensure we keep our scientists and researchers in Australia.
23. Undertaking a ‘Green Tape’ audit
The Coalition will provide $2 million to audit all environmental legislation currently applicable to agriculture at a local, state and federal government level.
24. Developing soil carbon technologies
The Coalition will redirect $45 million from the Carbon Capture and Storage Flagships programme to the development and implementation of soil carbon technologies, particularly biochar, that aim to capture and sequester carbon in soils.
25. Pursuing trade opportunities
The Coalition will establish the permanent position of Ambassador for Trade Reform and continue funding the Trade Representative for Australia’s Agricultural Industries.
26. Committing to skills migration and regional Australia
Within the context of an overall reduction to 170,000 per year (down from the present almost 300,000), the Coalition will refocus the emphasis of the permanent migration programme so that two-thirds will be for the purposes of skilled migration and, within that, the skills needs of regional areas and small business will be prioritised.
27. Supporting regional tourism development growth
The Coalition will provide $14 million towards domestic tourism development with grants for Regional Tourism Organisations. A further $40 million will be allocated towards a Tourism Infrastructure and Development Fund and Tourism Research Australia will receive a further $8 million to identify emerging trends and gaps in the market, such as regional tourism development opportunities.
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